Orchard Mesa Pool is a single rectangle of water, six lanes measuring 25 yards one way and 25 meters the other. The Community Recreation Center at Matchett Park has five pools, two slides, a climbing wall over the water and a lazy river shaped like a figure eight. The vote on November 3 decided that, for many Grand Junction swimmers, the first pool is giving way to the second.
Orchard Mesa was designed around one kind of swimming. The rec center on Recreation Way was designed around variety. Anyone who has been swimming laps or taking water aerobics on Orchard Mesa will find a very different pool waiting in North Grand Junction.
What the vote settled
Issue 2B asked Grand Junction voters to raise the City's sales and use tax by 0.07%, from 3.39% to 3.46%, to pay for up to $12 million in repairs and renovations at Orchard Mesa Pool. The unofficial results the City posted on November 4 showed it failing.
The City's post-election notice didn't hedge. "With the measure not passing and the requisite funds to fix the pool not being approved, the Orchard Mesa Pool will move towards closure." Mesa County Valley School District 51 owns the pool. Mesa County left the operating partnership in 2024, and since then the City and District 51 have run the pool together under an agreement that expires at the end of December 2026. The City says it will keep residents updated as the pool approaches its final day.
KKCO 11 News covered the City Council meeting the night after the election. One resident said the pool's aquatics coordinator told that morning's aerobics class the last day would be December 31.
The $12 million would not have made the pool any bigger. According to the City's Engage GJ project page, it would have replaced the mechanical, HVAC, electrical and filtration systems, refurbished the locker rooms and replaced the hot tub, which no longer works. The layout would have stayed at six lanes. The cost estimate came from a 2023 evaluation by OLC Corporation, and FCI reviewed and updated it in August 2026. The pool on the ballot was the same six-lane lap pool, restored.
One pool's work, split five ways
At Orchard Mesa, laps, lessons, aerobics and open swim have all shared the same six lanes. The Community Recreation Center gives each of those uses its own water. Before the pools were filled this summer, Parks and Recreation Director Ken Sherbenou walked KJCT through what each one is for.
| Rec center pool | What it's built for | Closest thing at Orchard Mesa |
|---|---|---|
| Lap pool | Lap swimming and open swim, plus some recreational features | The six-lane main pool |
| Wellness pool | Kept at 100°F with hydrotherapy jets, described as a family whirlpool for relaxation and therapy | The hot tub, which is currently non-functional |
| Leisure pool | Figure-eight lazy river with two vortexes and other water play | No equivalent |
| Plunge pool | Large climbing wall with waterfalls, 1-meter and 3-meter jump platforms | No equivalent |
| Zero-depth entry pool | Easy entry and exit, mainly for children and people with disabilities | No equivalent |
The City's grand opening announcement also lists a diving board.
Sherbenou described the mix as the whole idea. "Having that diversity of amenities and experience, it really allows you to cater to people no matter where they're at in terms of their abilities," he told KJCT.
Where the lap swimmers and the aerobics class land
The table shows how things are likely to shift. Of the five pools, only the lap pool overlaps with what Orchard Mesa was built for, and it also handles open swim. If Orchard Mesa's lap swimmers and fitness classes come to Matchett Park, most of them will be sharing that one pool with the rec center's existing open-swim crowd. The other four pools serve families, kids and anyone looking to soak.
There is one clear gain for the Orchard Mesa crowd. Their old pool's hot tub had stopped working, and the repair plan listed its replacement as part of the work. The rec center's 100-degree wellness pool with hydrotherapy jets fills that role, and it was designed with therapy in mind. The zero-depth entry pool, built so people can walk in and out without a ladder, is another kind of access Orchard Mesa's rectangular layout doesn't have.
The price question raised at City Council
Cost came up at the post-election Council meeting. One speaker quoted by KKCO said, "The rec center is really beautiful and nice, but it's so expensive compared to the Orchard Mesa pool." The same speaker noted that many water aerobics regulars live in the county, outside city limits, and couldn't vote on a city measure. The Daily Sentinel also reported supporters' concern that a closure would fall hardest on lower-income families who relied on Orchard Mesa's lower admission.
The Save the Pool Committee made a similar point in its statement. "We feel that if county voters would've been eligible to vote, that there would have been a good chance that 2B would have succeeded."
The county question carries over to the rec center. When the City opened membership sales in June 2026, KREX reported separate resident and non-resident rates for annual memberships paid monthly.
| Pass type, June 2026 rates | Resident, per month | Non-resident, per month |
|---|---|---|
| Youth, ages 3 to 17 | $26 | $35 |
| Adult, ages 18 to 64 | $42 | $57 |
| Senior, 65+ | $30 | $41 |
| Dual | $63 | $85.50 |
| Family | $76 | $103 |
Under that June schedule, a county senior paid $11 a month more than a city senior, and a county adult paid $15 more. The rates came out before the doors opened, so check the City's Community Recreation Center page for current pricing and drop-in options.
Demand was already building before anyone from Orchard Mesa was looking for a new pool. In late July, KJCT reported about 1,500 annual memberships sold, against a City goal of 7,900.
The neighborhood pool at 2836 Recreation Way
For North Grand Junction, all of this lands close to home. The rec center held its ribbon cutting on September 25, offered free community access through that weekend, and began regular operations at 5:30 a.m. on Monday, September 28. It opened after more than two years of construction, starting with a June 1, 2024 groundbreaking.
Six weeks after opening, it has a new job. When Orchard Mesa's operating agreement runs out in December, the pool built for laps will be on Orchard Mesa and slated for closure, while the newest public pools in Grand Junction will sit on Recreation Way at Matchett Park. If you live near Matchett Park, the swimmers you see in the lap lanes this winter may include people who drove across the valley from Orchard Mesa to get there.
The City has pointed residents to engagegj.org for the history of Orchard Mesa Pool and for updates as closure plans take shape.
At Jennifer Van Gundy, we keep an eye on changes like this because they shape what a normal week looks like here, from where the kids swim to how far you drive for a morning lap. If you'd like to talk through what's changing near Matchett Park or anywhere else in the Grand Valley, contact us. We're glad to share what we know.
